Total Mileage: 38.5mi + 49.5mi HikingElevation Gain: 3,200' + 19,500' HikingCross-Training: Several core workoutsGoal: Get back into the running routine after a week off, set myself up for a lot of miles over the next five weeks.

I skipped the last two weekly recaps, as the first was the week of tapering and then racing Wakely Dam (covered in my Wakely race report) and the second was spent mostly sitting around and waiting for my quad to heal from the major bruise it incurred during the race. I was upset to be missing running time and loath to focus on fast road running once I healed, so I decided to change my race plans for the fall. I signed up for Vermont 50 and will focus on training for that, treating the road marathon two weeks later as a less-serious race.

I did manage to run twice toward the end of my recovery week when I had healed enough to run uphill without pain: the 3mi climb up Hurricane Rd from Keene was doable, and Meg was happy to pick me up at the top. I'm a much better husband when I get some exercise. Entering this past week I still couldn't run on the flats or downhill without pain. I tested it on a soft trail on Monday and stopped after two miles.

Fortunately I had committed to lead the "AAA Extreme" hike for ATIS, the local camp, on Tuesday. I've done this for four years now and it's always a high point of the summer. I wasn't worried about being able to do it--walking had felt fine for a few days--but I was afraid that it might delay my recovery. It turned out to be the perfect way to overcome my injury, and I was out running the next day. Another big hiking day with my friend Daniel further helped to strengthen and heal my quad. It's still tight, and I can't get full flexion out of my left knee, but at least now I can run and hike without and pain.

I covered a ton of miles this week (88), but it felt easy because of the mixture of hiking and running. I don't know how to count this week: is it a true 88 mile week? The hike with ATIS was at an easy pace for me with plenty of breaks, but the hikes on Friday with Daniel were basically nonstop at a solid pace. Either way, I'm psyched to be out in the mountains again. This is mainly why I signed up for Vermont 50: if I was still focusing on Mohawk-Hudson I'd be worried that hiking days aren't ideal for marathon training.

Looking Ahead: I just agreed to lead another ATIS hike on Monday, so I'll begin the week with nearly 20mi on Cliff and Redfield. I hope to do one other big hiking day during the week, and run every other day for as many miles as I can comfortably do. If I can ramp up mileage for another couple of weeks after that and then cut back a bit leading up to Vermont 50 I should be in a good position for a fun and successful 50 miler--my first since 2010.